Nonrefillable bottle



Patented Feb. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES NONREFILLABLE BOTTLE Arthur F. Nelson, Chicago, Ill., assignor of onethird to Seymour B. Levy, Cook County, Ill.

Application January 1s, 1939, serial No. 251,620

a claims. (ol. 21a- 21) One feature of :this invention is that it is very` effective for the .purpose for which it is designed, yet simple and easily manufactured; another feature of this invention is that it successfully Withstan-cls methods now commonly used for defeating other allegedly nonrellable closures for bottles; other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following speciiication and the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of apparatus embodying my invention; Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view along the line 2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is another transverse sectional view along the line `3 of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a view along the line 4 of Figure 1.

The desirability and advantages of nonre'illable bottles have long been appreciated in such fields as liquor, drugs and the like. A reputable manufacturer is frequently damaged `by unscrupulous retailers who buy a bottle of his goo-ds, as liquor, and then after i't is empty rell `it with much inferior merchandise which is sold `as the manufacturers. 1

Despite the great amount of Work which has been done in the field of making closures to render a bottle nonrefillable, all ot? such closures now commercially available are subject to various objections. The principal objection in most cases, of course, is the fact that they may be easily defeated and the bottle relled. Some such closures may be defeated merely by tipping the 'bottle slightly; others by filling the bottle upside down; and others by using a wire, for example,

My invention obviates 'these and other difficulties in present structures, and provi-des very effective apparatus adapted to serve as a closure or valve means to render a bottle nonrei'lllable,

In the yparticular embodiment of my invention illustrated herewith, a bottle I0, as for example, 46 a liquor bottle, is provided with a neck I I having a cylindrical inner surface and provided at one place with an annular groove I2 therein. 'Ihe bottle is adapted to be first filled :by any conventional means, and then to have in-serted in the 5D neck thereof, and locked and sealed therein, ap-

paratus so constructed and arranged las to enable the liquid to be dispensed from the ibottle but to prevent other liquid from entering the bottle if an attempt is made to reii'll lt. u This apparatus is here shown as comprising as its principal part a body member I3 Which i's substantially cylindrical in form and adapted to be received .by the neck I-I of the bottle. The body member is provided, at a place adapted to register with the annular groove I2.in the bottle 5 neck, with another annular groove I4. This groove is adapte-d to have a locking ringof spring metal I5 lie therein when the member is bein-g inserted in the neck of the bottle, the tension in the ring .being such that as soon as the grooves l0 I=2 and M register with each other the ring springs outwardly to the position shown in the drawing, locking the closure apparatus into the bottle neck in such a Way that it cannot thereafter be removed. Alppropri-ate means are also provided for 15 sealing the apparatus in th-e neck of the bottle to prevent fluid -flow between the bottle and the body member, this means being here shown as gaskets I6 and Il.

At the bottom end thereof, speaking with re- 20 spect to the position shown in the drawing, the body member is provided with an opening `I8 through which all liquid entering o-r leaving the bottle must pass when the apparatus is in place in the neck. The edge of the opening is formed 25 W'ith an annular sloping surface .I9 to provide a seat for the valve member '2U having a conical portion ,2| and a depending 'portion 22- lThe slope of the surface I9 and the exterior of the conical portion of the valve member are such that they 30 cooperate to make .good sealing engagement when .the conical portion is seated to close the opening I8, The valve member is preferably constructed of quite light material, as a light metal or a molded plastic. 35*

In order to limit the valve member vto movement in la desired path, and lto prevent defeating ythe apparatus by tipping the bottle vto one side to throw one edge of the valve member oiT the seat, guide means is provided. This guide means is 40 here shown as consisting of two cooperating elements. One of these is the rod 23 'carried by a supporting structure 24 in the body member and so located as to beV co-axial with the opening f8 and to extend therethrough. This rod is preferably polygonal in cross section, here being triangular, as may be best seen fro-m Figure 4.

The depending portion 22 of the valve member is provided with the other element of the guide means. This is a bore 25 adapted to receive the 50 rod 23 and to be slidably splined thereon. By this arrangement the valve member is limited t0 movement along the axis of the opening I8, between the closed position shown in Figure 1 and an open position when the valve member is higher on the guide rod than shown in the view. The use of circular and polygonal cooperating elements as guide means for the valve member enables the desired guidance of movementl without any restriction thereon. That is, there is no dashpot effect in the bore 25.

In order to prevent the valve member from being hooked or otherwise moved from closed position by a wire or other instrument, the inside of the body member is provided with two barriers. One of the barriers is the supporting structure 24, which is pierced near the upper part thereof with holes 26. The other barrier is the annular ring 21 closing the space between the lower end of the supporting structure 24 and the main or outer part of the cylindrical body member I3. This second barrier also has holes therethrough, here identified as 28. As may be seen from a consideration of Figures 1 and 2, these holes are not in register. That is, they are staggered so that any instrument or wire could not be conveniently inserted through the holes in both barriers; and even if a wire were deformed and passed through both barriers it could not be manipulated to be of any effect.

An even more important provision to prevent defeat of this apparatus by usual methods is the provision of a ow path or flow channel designed to direct liquid entering the bottle toward the axis of the opening I8, so that it flows into the inside of conical portion 2l of the valve member. This is accomplished by curving at least a portion of the inner wall of the body member I3, as the portion 29, in such a way that liquid :flowing into the bottle through the upper barrier openings 26 is directed through the lower openings 28 in such a way that the direction or path of ow is toward the upper end of therod 23. It will be readily apparent that if the bottle is turned upside down and an eiort made to ll it by forcing liquid into the neck, the path of flow of the liquid will be into the inside or concavity of the conical portion 2| of the valve member. Since the valve member is preferably designably light, even a very gentle flow in this path will lift the valve member up into seated or closing position with respect to the opening, and prevent any liquid entering the bottle from getting past the valve member into the main interior portion of the bottle I0.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments cf my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims, in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as permissible, in View of the prior art. f'

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the character described for rendering a bottle nonrellable, including: a substantially cylindrical body member adapted to be locked and sealed in the neck of a bottle and having an opening therein, at least a portion of the inner wall of said member being so shaped as to direct the now of the liquid entering said bottle toward the center of said opening; a valve member movable with respect to said body member and adapted to close said opening, said valve member having a hollow thin-walled conical portion adapted to seat in said opening and a depending portion adapted to extend therethrough into said bottle, whereby the path of iiow of liquid entering said bottle is into the concavity of said conical portion; and guide means limiting the movement of said valve member to a desired path, said guide means comprising as elements thereof a rod on one of said members and a bore in the other, said elements being co-axial with said opening and one being round and the other polygonal.

2. Apparatus of the character described for rendering a bottle nonrellable, including: a body member adapted to be locked and sealed in the neck of a bottle and having an opening therein through which any liquid flowing into said bottle must pass; a valve member movable with respect to said body member and adapted to close said opening; and guide means limiting the movement of said valve member to a desired path, said means comprising as elements thereof a rod on one of said members and a bore in the other, one of said elements being round and the other polygonal.

3. Apparatus of the character described for rendering a bottle nonrellable, including: a body member adapted to be locked and sealed in the neck of a bottle and having an opening therein through which any liquid flowing into said bottle must pass; a valve member movable with respect to said body member and adapted to close said opening, said valve member having a conical portion of sheet material and a depending portion; and guide means limiting the movement of said valve member -to a desired path, said guide means comprising as elements thereof a polygonal rod on said body member coaxial with said opening and extending therethrough and a circular bore in the depending portion of said valve member adapted to receive said rod.

ARTHUR F. NELSON. 

